Reclosing circuit interrupter



Oct. 6, 1942. J. w. MAY

RECLOS ING CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER Filed D66. 19, 1941 NVENTOR /Ofz BY ATTORNE WITNESSES:

Patented Oct. 6, 1942 BECLOSING CIRCUIT INTEBRUPTER John W. May, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric t Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 19, 1941, Serial No. 423,635 I (Cl. 20o-89) 3 Claims.

My invention relates to circuit breakers and, in particular, relates to automatically reclosing circuit breakers. For certain types of service, such, for example, as rural electrii'lcation, it is desirable to have a circuit interrupter which shall trip open when an overload or short-circuit occurs on the line and which shall automatically reclose itself after a short interval. The reason for this is that by merely relieving the line from connection to a voltage source for a short period, many types of short-circuit or overload, such, for instance, as the arc-over across an insulator, will disappear quickly, and it is possible to resume service to customers by mere reclosure of the circuit breaker. On the other hand, for such types of service as are mentioned above, it is usually an unwarranted expense to maintain attendance by power line employes to quickly reclose every circuit breaker tripped out, since some of these circuit breakers are located at points on the line remote from the power station; hence a circuit breaker which automatically recloses is desirable.

On the other hand, there are certain types of short-circuit or overload which will not disappear when the line has been cut 01T from the voltage source, and in such cases it would be ruinous to the` circuit breaker if it were to repeatedly and for any long-continued period of time go through its tripping and reclosing cycle automatically. Hence it is desirable that, after the occurrence of a few tripping and reclosing operations in immediate succession to each other, the circuit breaker should be permanently opened to disconnect the line from the power source.

Circuit breakers arranged to carry out such functions as are described above are known in the art, but they are, in general, complicated and expensive pieces of apparatus. For rural electri ncation service, one of the prime requirements is that the device shall be relatively free from mechanical complications and liability to get out of order through continued service.

One object of my invention is, accordingly, to provide a circuit breaker of the type described above which shall be relatively simple and of low cost.

Another object of my invention is to provide a circuit breaker of the above-described type which can utilize circuit breaker mechanisms which have been already developed for large scalev manufacture for ordinary non-automatic reclosing service.

Still another object of my invention is to above which shall involve only relatively simple mechanisms and mechanical devices which have little liability to get out of order in service and which can be readily repaired by operatives without a high degree of mechanical training.

Other objects of my invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification taken in connection with the drawing in which the single figure is a view, partly in section and i partly in elevation, of a circuit breaker embodying the principles of my invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, an enclosing box or container I, which may be of insulating material if desired, but which I prefer to make of metal, contains the elements of a circuit breaker of the type described in Dorfman et al. patent`No. 2,044,157, issued June 16, 1936, and assigned to Westinghouse Electric 8a Manufacturing Company of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, assignee of my present application, together with the elements of a mechanism for tripping and automatically reclosing the circuit breaker a predetermined number of times and thereafter permanently opening the circuit breaker until it is manually reset. The elements of the circuit breaker described in the abovementioned patent appear, in general, in the upper half of the container, and the elements of the automatic reclosing device appear in the lower half of the container.

Current may be conducted into the container I through the conventional conduit connections,

vone side of the line being connected within the vcontainer to a stationary terminal 3 of the circuit breaker and the other side of the line being connected to a terminal member 4 within the container. The path of current through the circuit breaker is from the contact 3 to the movable contact 5, thence through a flexible lead 6 `to a terminal block 1 and a second lead 8 to a solenoid 9, and through another lead II to the contact block 4. The contact elements 3 and 5 are housed within an arc-extinguishing structure of a conventional type which forms no part of the present invention and hence need not be more fully described here. The movable contact 5 is mounted upon a resilient arm I2 supported on a link I3 which turns upon a stationary pivot 20 xed relative to the container I. The free end of the link I3 is pivoted to a link I4, which, in turn, is pivoted to a second link I5, the'latter turning upon a pivot I6 which remains stationary relative to the container IV until the circuit breaker is tripped by an overfurnisha circuit breaker of the type described load, as will later appear more fully. The plv- 'contact 3 so long as the arm I 'I 22 substantiallyv ot I5 is carried by an arm II which turns upon a pivot I8 having a fixed support relative to the box I. The free end of the arm I1 forms one member o`f a latch, thef other member I9 of which turns upon a pivot 2| having a'xed relation to the container I. As long as the current through the circuit breaker does not exceed a predetermined normal value, the free end of the arm I'I is held in stationary engagement with the'latch I9, but is released from engagement therewith upon the occurrence of an overload in the line through the circuit breaker, as will be more fully described below.

A circuit breaker operating arm 22 has a pivot 23 which is supported in xed relation tothe container I and extends through a slot in the cover f the container I. A spring 24 is connected between a suitable point on the arm 22 and the bearing pinV which interconnects the links I4 and I5. When the circuit breaker is in its closed circuit position, that shown in the drawing, the arm 22 is so positioned relative to the links I4, I5 that the spring 24 tends to rotate link I4 in a clockwise direction about its pivot, but suitable stop members prevent the links I4, I5 rotating in this direction beyond the point at which they are shown in the drawing. It will be seen that the links I4, I5 constitute a toggle tending to hold the movable contact 5 into engagement with the stationary is held in the position shown in the drawing by the latch member I 9. When it is desired to open the circuit breaker manually, the handle 22 is moved in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 23, thus displacing the spring 24 to such a position that it pulls the pivot pin of the toggle link I5 counterclockwise in the drawing, thereby breaking the toggle I 4, I5 and rotating the arm I2 about the pivot 20 to open the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker is reclosed by moving the handle clockwise to the position shown in the drawing, whereupon the spring 24 again pulls the toggle I4, I5 to the position shown in the drawing, rotating the arm I2 about the stationary pivot 20 to close the contact 5 into engagement with the contact 3.

It will be observed that the spring 24 thus biases the circuit breaker to its closed circuit position and likewise biases the handle 22 to the position shown in the drawing whenever the circuit breaker is closed. It will likewise be observed that the current through the circuit breaker passes through the solenoid 9 which has a core 25 of magnetic material and that this line current through the solenoid 9 tends to draw the core 25 toward the left in the drawing. The core 25 is likewise provided with a spring 21 which tends to oppose the pull on it of the solenoid 9. The core 25 is pivotally connected to the handle 22 at lone end, and is provided with a slide bearing 28 supported on the casing I at its other end. VThe number of turns in the solenoid 9 is so proportioned that at the full load current which it is desired to permit to ow continuously in the line governed by the circuit breaker, the solenoid 9 does not exert force enough on the core 25 to move the handle from the closed circuit position shown in the drawing. On the other hand, when the current through the circuit breaker exceeds this predetermined desired value, the solenoid 9 is so proportioned that the force on the core to overcome the bias of springs to move the handle 22 Vcounter- 75 25 is sufficient 21 and 24 and clockwise to its circuit-opening position. The circuit breaker is thereby opened in the manner which has already/been described.

An extension from the core carries a pawlv 29 pivoted thereon which engages the teeth of a plate 3| which is pivotally supported at` 32 Vstationary relative to Vthe container I. 'Ihe plate 3| is attached by piston 34 air type, this dashpot being arranged to permit the plate 3| to movereadily in `a, counterclockwise direction, but to permit it to be rotated only slowly in a clockwise direction under the inuence of a bias spring 3I5. Such dashpots are well known in the art and `require no further description. The plate 3| is likewise connected by a pivoted link 31 having a-slotted a pivoted link 33 to the engagement at its free end with the latch mem- .latch member ber I9, a spring 38 being provided to bias the I9 in a' clockwise direction about Iits pivot 2|.

The entire assembly mentioned above is supported out of electrical connection with the container I by an insulating block 39.

As has been previously stated, the occurrence of an overload current ow through the circuit breaker will cause the solenoid 9 to attract the core 25 in a direction downward in the 'drawing, and the pawl 29 will cause the plate 3| to move counterclockwise by an angle somewhat greater than the angle between successive teeth on the plate 3|. As soon as themovable contact 5 separates from the stationary contact 3 and interrupts the current ow through the circuit breaker, the solenoid 9 loses its pulling power on the core 25 and the springs 21 and 24 quickly move the core 25 to the position shown in the drawing, thereby reclosing the contacts 5 and 3. However, thev plate 3| is prevented by the dashpot 35 from immediately moving to its original position. In this displaced position of the plate 3|, the link 37 has moved the latch member I9 a short distance counterclockwise, but the latch member I9 and the arm Il are so designed that this movement is insucient to disengage the latch I9. If now the current through the circuit breaker is of normal value, the circuit breaker will remain closed. On the other hand, if the short-circuit still remains on the line, the solenoid f25 will again overcome the 'bias of springs 21 and 24 and move the handle 22 to reopen the circuit breaker. As a result of this second opening movement, the pawl 29 will engage the second tooth of plate 3| and move it again in a counterclockwise direction and likewise move the latch I9 Lstill further counterclockwise along the edge` of the engaging surface on arm Il. The latch I9 and member are, however, so designed that this second displacement of the latch I9 is still insuilicient to cause disengagement between them.-

The process just described of successive reclosings and displacements of the plate 3| and latch member I9 will occur as long as the short-circuit or overload continues on the line until the latch I9 is moved so far to the left in the drawing that it slips oE the edge of the arm I 1. When this occurs, the member Il will move clockwise about its pivot I8 under the stress of the spring 24 acting on the knee of the toggle links I 4, I5. The

movable contact 5 will be rotated in a counterof a dashpot 35 whichv may be of the the latch I9; hence the circuit breaker remains open until a power line attendant manually moves the arm 22 counterclockwise to its open circuit position, thereby causing the spring 2l acting through link i5 to rotate the arm il counterclockwise into engagement with the latch le. Once the latch i9 rea-engages the arm E1, the biasing effects of springs 2d and 2l will pull the arm 22 clockwise as soon es the attendant re leases the handle 22 and the circuit breaker will again be moved to its closed circuit position.

lf the cause of the original overload is removed by the effect of the ilrst or any immediately succeeding opening of the circuit-breathe the current of normal value will thereafter be insufficient to move core 25 enough to cause pawl 2S to engage the teeth of plate 3i, and dashpot 35 will soon permit the plate Si to return to its original position, i. e. that shown the drawing.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a pair ci relatively movable contacts and means for connecting them into an electrical circuit, an arm rotatable about a pivot for moving one contact into engagement with the other, a pair of linles having their opposite ends connected respectivehT to said arm and to a second arm pivoted in fixed relation relative to the other one of said contacts, a latch icr normally retaining the last-mentioned arm in'fixed position relative to the last-mentioned Contact, a handle turning on a pivot which is iixed relative to said last-mentioned contact and connected by bias means to the knee of said toggle links, said bias means being adapted to normally hold the above-described mechanism in circuit-closing position, a current-responsive device adapted u;c on current overload to overcome said. olas and move said handle to separate said contacts, e pawl adapted to engage and move ratchet upon movement of said handle to its operi-cir cuit position, ias means provided with a time delay element arranged to return said ratchet to its undisplaced position a predetermined time after its displacement therefrom by said parli, and connections between said ratchet means and said latching means whereby, movement of said ratchet means in response to one actuation thereof by said pawl moves said latc'ning means only e. predetermined fraction of thev distance necesn sary todisengage from said third arm.

2. In combination with a pair of relatively movable contacts and means for connecting them into an electrical circuit, an arm rotatable about a pivot for moving one contact into engagement with the other, a pair of links having their opposite ends connected respectively to said arm and to a. second arm plvoted in ilxed relation relative f sain linkage, sa

to the other one of said contacts; a latch i'or normally retaining the last-mentioned arm in fixed position relative to the last-mentioned contact, a handle turning on a pivotl whichis fixed relative to said last-mentioned contact and connected by bias means to the knee or said toggle links, said bias means being adapted to normally hold the above-described mechanism in circuit-ciosing position, a solenoid connected in series relation with said movable contacts, a magnetic core adapted to be attracted by said solenoid, c pivotal connection between said core and said han le, a ce1--a ried by said core, a ratchet fapted to se moved in successive steps by succeI ive engagem nt oi upon r solenoid, bias dashpct adaptratchet to its original 'undisf o, a ter dispivot attractions oi said core by sm means provided with a time ed move said i eo, latch to circuit-closing position, a said ratchet and said latch, said r latch s ing so proport' ments or" s rat 1 than th means to return tion is required to cliseriga saidv second, arm,

3. circuit interrupter contacts, a tripn undisplaced position to provV .c a ulcruni lint'. mechanism adapted close said 'A position and to n its o for circuit posit-on, a handle and bias l said li age to closed-circuit position, said being movable against said stress to move said circuit bre er to open-circuit position, said trip-free arm being movable to asecond position 'wherein said bias means stresses said` circuit breaker to open-circuit position, a latch for re-1 leasably retaining said trip-free arrn in'lts firstn mentioned position, current-responsive means for moving said arm against said stress to open said circuit breaker, means provided with a time delay arranged to move said latch alter one einerm gization of said current-responsive means a fraction only of the distance necessary to dlsengage from said trip-free arm. and bias means tending to move said latch under control of said time delay means back into its undisplaced position oi engagement with said trip-free arm.

J OHN W. MAY. 

